Density
by Checkmate-13
Summary: Erza attempts to investigate the nature of Natsu and Lucy's relationship. NaLu.
1. Chapter 1

**Due to the positive feedback I received on my first story, I decided to attempt another one. Thank you to everyone who favourited or reviewed.**

"NATSU!"

"HAI!"

Natsu stood to attention as Erza inspected him closely through narrowed eyes.

"At ease. Please take a seat."

"Hai!"

The Fairy Tail wizards sat down across from each other. Erza started scribbling down some notes, leaving Natsu to stew anxiously in his seat.

Erza was recruiting for an S-Class job, and the fiery dragon slayer was up for the challenge. Unfortunately for him, her ultra-preparedness streak had kicked in and she'd decided to go the formal route and hold actual job interviews.

"So, it says here you have had S-Class experience before, correct?" Erza began stiffly.

"Uh, yeah, you were there, remember?" Natsu answered.

"Not, at, all" Erza hissed through gritted teeth, trying to remain professional. "Please, refresh me."

"Hai! Lucy, Happy, and I beat up some people and then defeated the monster Deliora."

"That's not how I remem- that's not what I've got written here" Erza growled dangerously.

"Oh, right, Ice Princess helped a little too."

Erza glared daggers at Natsu who just shrugged.

"This 'Happy' character, you and he are inseparable, you say?"

"Oh yeah! I wouldn't go anywhere without him."

"Even on an S-Class job?"

"Especially on an S-Class job! Happy is super helpful."

"Fascinating…Says here in my notes that he complains constantly, and consumes more fish than he's worth."

"Whoa really? Whoever wrote those notes for you has a few screws loose."

Erza's note-taking nearly tore a hole in the paper, but she seemed to calm herself down and turned to a pile of documents next to her.

"Next I'd like to draw your attention to the submission forms you filed. Which were late, incidentally." Erza added sternly.

"Ahh sorry, it's been a mad Monday!"

"It's Thursday."

"Oh, well, I made lots of spelling mistakes so I had to keep starting again!" Natsu laughed sheepishly.

"A noble thought, but the forms you turned in are nothing but spelling mistakes!"

"Well, I knew that I was getting them wrong, but if I understood how to fix them then I wouldn't get any wrong in the first place!" Natsu reasoned.

"Yes…anyway, under 'Reasons for Attending' you've written 'I wanna fite', and then drawn a crude picture of what appears to be you beating up Gray. Do you think that's a good reason to go on an S-Class job?

"Oh yeah, definitely! I want to fight a strong opponent!"

"…Is that it?"

"Well, S-Class jobs are more fun, but that's because it's harder, so I guess it's all the same point really."

"Yes. I couldn't help but notice you've left 'Age', 'Address', 'Height', 'Weight', and 'Mission Success Rate' all blank on the sheet."

"Ahah I couldn't remember that junk. Just ask Lucy, she knows all that stuff for me."

"Likes: Lucy, Happy, Lisanna, Gramps, Wendy…Uh Natsu, I think you've misunderstood the question, it wasn't really about people."

"Huh?"

"Dislikes: Stripper, Metal Freak, Lion Pervert…what have you got against Loke?"

"He keeps hitting on Lucy. It's really annoying." Natsu murmured, blushing slightly, but Erza was too engrossed in the paper work to notice.

"Mmm, and under 'References' you written 'The old man', and 'Erza'. You do realise I can't be a reference for you when I'm the employer?"

"Awww why not?"

Erza turned over to the next page without answering.

"Ok, let's- UGH! Natsu please tell me this isn't what I think it is!"

Natsu looked over at the forms she'd immediately backed away from. They were completely unreadable due to large green stains.

"Ahhh, Erza, I tried my best to fill out the 'Weaknesses' section but as soon as I started thinking about…the 't word'…I got sick."

"AND YOU TURNED THE FORMS IN ANYWAY!?" Erza raged.

"I really wanna go!" Natsu whined.

Erza shuddered. She delicately pinched the corner of the page and carried it over to the bin.

"I'm just going to pretend I didn't see that, I'm well aware of _that_ weakness. Let's move on."

Natsu flashed her a wide smile.

"This next page is blank…and the next one…did you answer any of the essay questions!?"

"Yeah! Give me some credit!"

Erza looked at him disbelievingly and flipped her way through the stack of papers.

"Nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, oh! Here we are!"

"Told you!" Natsu announced triumphantly, poking his tongue at her for good measure.

Erza cleared her throat. "A Taim wen I was Afrayd, by Natsu."

Erza stopped reading to nail Natsu with a piercing glare.

"Don't look so smug, Natsu. When I'm pronouncing the words that way it means you've spelt them wrong."

"Oh."

"I am a really strong fiter so I am never afrayd. But one taime Lucy was forling and I had to catch her. I was afrayd I cood not make it in tyme. My hart maid me run fasta and I cort her but I still hav bad dreams afta that for a wile. The End."

Erza stared at the paper blankly. Natsu fidgeted nervously, it was a little embarrassing having her read his answers out loud. He still didn't know what had possessed him to answer that question, he was going to leave them all blank originally.

"After this mission is finished, we're doing some tutoring."

"Nooo, why?"

"WHY!? You spelt 'time' three different ways, along with several other attempts across the bottom of the page that you've crossed out!"

"Yeah, so? I wanted to make sure I got one of them right!"

"NONE OF THEM WERE RIGHT! T-I-M-E!" Erza yelled.

"Hey! I could have just left it blank like the others!" Natsu defended.

"Natsu…" Erza growled menacingly.

"Y-yes?"

"Spelling aside…what you wrote was very sweet."

Natsu shrugged again, trying to suppress another blush. "It was the truth."

"You know it's important to feel fear, it helps you understand what is significant to you, helps you learn the things that you couldn't afford to lose." Erza lectured kindly.

"Hm?"

Natsu had already zoned out.

A muscle twitched above Erza's left eye, but she moved on.

"OK then, we'll move on to the next section, finding out how well you'll be able to work with the current team members on this mission. What's a possible offensive combination you could perform with Erza Scarlet?"

Natsu laughed at her stuffy choice of phrasing, referring to herself in third person.

"I suppose, if you had your flame thingy armour on, you could grab the opponent to stop him escaping and I'd blast both of you with my Fire Dragon's Roar. Since your armour protects you against fire, you'll walk away without too much damage!"

"…Clever, sort of. I don't appreciate being the equivalent of a human anchor though." Erza ticked some boxes on the page. "How well would you be able to get along with Laxus Dreyar? You know how much I hate teammates fighting."

"Laxus is coming!? Ugh, I'm going to punch him so"-

"Natsu!"

"Hai! Uh, yeah I guess I could stomach Laxus for a little while if he keeps his mouth shut."

"Hardly a convincing answer, Natsu." Erza said disapprovingly.

Natsu grinned unapologetically.

"Next question. Hypothetically, Laxus and I have both been wounded, we are facing an enemy with the same abilities as Juvia Lockyer. Who do you direct Wendy to heal first?"

"Laxus AND Wendy both got chosen before me?!"

"Answer the question, Natsu" Erza sighed.

"That's easy, Wendy has to heal you."

"Idiot! Wrong! Laxus is a lightning mage and our best chance against a water-user! Why on Earth land would you choose me?"

"Cause Laxus is a jerk?"

Erza let out another exasperated sigh. It seemed even Natsu knew that wasn't an appropriate answer, but his mood had deteriorated rapidly and he just wanted the interview to end.

"Next question"-

"Erza, I don't really want to"-

"Which of Lucy's keys would be the most"-

"LUCY IS GOING!?" Natsu's jaw dropped.

Erza frowned at being interrupted. "Yes, she was one of the first people I considered."

"What!? Why? Erza, this is an S-Class job, it's way too dangerous for her! You have to let me come too!"

"NATSU!" Erza snapped irritably. "How can you have such little faith in your teammate?"

Natsu clamped his mouth shut hard.

"I…I do trust Lucy…" he ventured cautiously, "It's just that…I'm…I'm…"

Natsu never finished the sentence, because he didn't know what he was. His mind was telling him to believe that Lucy could handle herself, but his heart was demanding him not to let her out of his sight.

"Natsu…care to elaborate?"

Natsu jumped, forgetting that he was still sitting across from Erza.

"I'm sure…Lucy deserves to go, what I meant to say before…is that it would be _less_ dangerous for her if I also came."

Erza ran a hand through her hair and softened her voice. "I'm sorry Natsu, but there are plenty of talented wizards vying for this last position on the team, most-…all of which submitted better applications than you."

"Give me one more chance! …Please!" Natsu blurted out. "I'll re-do my application, seriously this time!"

Erza exhaled sadly, "Natsu, you know I'd love to have you along, but I can't start making exceptions because we're friends. Trust in Lucy, trust in me."

Natsu lowered his head in disappointment, shame was spreading slowly through his body, his chest ached under the load it was suddenly carrying.

Erza continued to scrutinise Natsu carefully, the usually vibrant wizard was currently hunched in his chair, looking straight down at the ground.

"Natsu, when was the last time you and Lucy went on a job without each other?"

Natsu snapped out of his gloom and furrowed his brow in thought.

"Uh, not since she came to Fairy Tail."

"Mhmm, and when was the last time you've been separated from her for longer than a day?"

A full minute went by before Natsu offered a cautious response.

"We…haven't, once, since we met. Not that I remember anyway."

"I see…" Erza replied carefully. There were always whispers about the nature of Natsu and Lucy's relationship, but through Natsu's vagueness, and Lucy's defensiveness, no one could get a straight answer out of either of them.

Natsu continued to fidget in his seat, he was just not made to sit still for so long. "Erza, can I go already?"

Erza coughed and shuffled her papers, eyes darting around suspiciously. "Just one more section to go Natsu, then you can leave."

"Huh? Didn't you already say my application was the worst?"

"No, no, not at all, well, sort of. It's _failing_ , but you still have this last section to change my mind! Just answer truthfully alright?"

This information brought Natsu's mood back up, "Bring it on! I won't let you down! Thank you Erza!" Natsu yelled excitedly.

"Don't mention it" Erza replied feebly, sweat beginning to appear on her brow. Lying was like acting, in this case minus a script as well, hopefully Natsu wouldn't catch on.

"You and um…Lucy. Why did you, or how did you, no, what made you guys join as a team, together?" Erza eventually asked, already feeling the effects of stage fright.

"Oh, well we just met and she was funny, so I thought it would be cool to hang out with her." Natsu answered honestly, his face brightening as he recalled happy memories.

"R-right, and your relationship, has, er, how has your relationship improved, or changed, since that time?"

"Hmmm." Natsu pondered the question, completely oblivious to Erza's change in demeanour.

"Well, she makes me laugh even more, it turns out Lucy is a super weirdo!"

"Yes, but aside from that?" Erza tried to steer the conversation back to where she wanted it to go.

"I guess…I don't really know how to put it into words, she's my best friend. I know her back to front. She makes me smile…but like different to making me laugh, I dunno…"

Natsu trailed off, unsure if what he was saying was being understood, but Erza nodded silently, prompting him to continue.

"When we're together, I feel different. Like I can't imagine how I was like, or what I did, before I met her. Sometimes she doesn't need to do or say anything, I just feel…better…looking at her. I'd do anything to make her smile at me."

Natsu stopped abruptly and threw his head back in laughter.

"Now I sound like the super weirdo! Please don't tell Lucy any of this, it might freak her out!"

"Oh! U-uh, n-not at all, this is all confidential, just for the mission…"

Erza had turned slightly pink at Natsu's comments, this idiot could say some really sweet things sometimes.

Snapped back out of his thoughts of Lucy, Natsu suddenly frowned. "How is this related to my job application?"

"Uhhhh, like, it's important to know…the extent of familiarity…with potential coupl- teammates!"

Erza coughed suspiciously again, not meeting Natsu's eyes.

"Oh! So like, the better I know Lucy, the more chance I have of coming?" Natsu asked excitedly.

"Y-yeah, something like that…"

"Alright! What else do you want to know?"

Erza glanced around guiltily, her curiosity and professionalism each screaming into one of her ears. It was pretty clear that, despite the rumours, Natsu and Lucy weren't together… _that_ way. Even so, what Natsu described…they had to be close. Knowing Natsu, they'd probably been close for a long time, would this dense idiot ever figure it out by himself?

To complicate manners, Flame Empress Erza materialised in miniature form on her left shoulder. "You know, if you… _got the ball rolling_ , you'd be doing your friends a favour. In fact, by not helping them get together, you're being a _bad friend_."

Erza stiffened, she didn't want to be a bad friend to her Fairy Tail companions.

Heaven's Wheel Erza appeared on her opposite shoulder, scowling across at Flame Erza. "Don't justify being a snoop. It's bad enough you're stringing along poor Natsu with these questions, you could do serious damage if you meddle in things you don't understand!"

Erza nodded solemnly, she was no expert in this department.

Flame Erza growled, before smirking suddenly as an idea hit her. "Give me one question, ask one question for me, and I won't bother you again."

"Go on…" Erza mumbled cautiously, as Heaven Erza glared from the other shoulder. Flame Erza grinned evilly, before whispering into Erza's ear.

"Yo, Erza?"

Erza snapped back to reality, Natsu was rocking on his chair, looking up at the ceiling. "Is that all the questions you have? You're kind of spacing out a bit…"

Erza cleared her throat, not knowing how much time had passed during her inner turmoil. "Sorry about that. Natsu…if you had to spend the rest of your life with only one person, who"-

"Lucy."

"You didn't let me finish!"

"Didn't have too" Natsu laughed. "Look, I know I probably didn't make the cut, I get it, don't make an exception for me…it would take away from how hard Lucy worked to get assigned to your mission if you just handed me a spot."

Natsu flashed Erza with his widest smile and jumped out of his chair. At some point during the last few questions he'd clearly made peace with not being able to go. On his way out of the room however he turned to add one more thing. "Erza, I do trust you, and Lucy, do your best!" And with that he bounded out, back to his usual self.

Erza sighed, mimicking Natsu and rocking back in her chair. She'd been beginning to waver on leaving Natsu behind. "Don't be such a sap!" Erza ordered to herself out loud. She'd made the right and fair decision…and yet…

Erza snapped forward, she'd make it her own personal mission to corner Lucy one-on-one and find out how she felt about Natsu. It was her duty as a good friend.

 **Next time! Erza attempts to interrogate Lucy. Thanks for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you to everyone who favourited, followed, or left a review. It means a lot.**

Embers rose off the campfire, dancing into the all-surrounding darkness. The moment they were removed from their source, they dwindled and flickered into nothing. Erza wondered if this was a greater metaphor for something, but was too nervous to think straight. She was about to attempt taking blood from a stone, or rather, ask Lucy about her private life.

The job had been going well, they were tracking a group of dangerous escapees from Crocus Penitentiary, last spotted in the foothills of the Fiore Highlands. Team Erza had picked up a few stragglers and handed them over to the local authorities for transportation back to the capital, and were hot on the heels of the ringleaders. Freed's trapping ability, Wendy's tracking and healing, and Lucy's resourcefulness and problem solving, had all assisted greatly in the first week of the assignment. Laxus and Erza had the raw power in case the initial capture went awry, but they hadn't had to flex any muscle, yet.

"…and so, I'd say with a good day's trek tomorrow we'll catch up to the main group in the late afternoon or the early evening at the latest" Wendy concluded her report to the group.

Laxus grunted in acknowledgment and cracked his knuckles, while Freed nodded solemnly. Lucy clapped her hands together and complimented Wendy on her tracking. Even by dragon slayer standards Wendy was phenomenal, her wind magic allowed her to pick up scents on the breeze better than Natsu or Gajeel could.

Erza cleared her throat. "Good work, Wendy. Even though I trust all of you to hold your own in a battle, we will still slow down and wait for night to fall before making our move tomorrow. It's vital that Freed can lock away as many enemy combatants as possible before the fight starts, we're taking no chances, this is an S-Class job for a reason."

The group all murmured their agreement and started moving into their own conversations before Erza cleared her throat again. "Before everyone turns in for the night we have a couple of errands to run. Freed, I want you to go double check the perimeter field. Laxus, scavenge for some wild berries and more fire wood. Wendy, climb that giant Oak tree we passed and check the prevailing wind for foreign scents. Dismissed!"

"Hai!"

"Hai!"

"Hai…"

Freed and Wendy shot off to perform their tasks, while Laxus loped off lazily, yawning.

"Um, was there something you wanted me to do, Erza? I could accompany Wendy if you like?" Lucy asked earnestly.

"Oh, no, its fine, we're going to have a nice friendly catch up." Erza smiled stiffly, shuffling over and squeezing Lucy's knee in what she thought was an approachable gesture.

"Erza…you're hurting me…"

"Lucy, let's gossip."

"W-what!? Why are you asking me this all of a sudden?" Lucy panicked.

"Can't two friends gossip on a sleepover?" Erza asked innocently.

"Uh…I guess, it's just that it's not so much a sleepover as it is an S-Class mission…"

Erza waved her hand nonchalantly. "Come on Lucy, when else can we gossip? The guild is too noisy, and we never have a mission together without Natsu, Gray, and Happy."

"R-right, I guess so…"

Erza smiled sweetly, "Great! It's decided then!" Erza ex-quipped into her sleepover pyjamas and pulled a tub of ice-cream out of her bag. Lucy narrowed her eyes at the typical signs of Erza-style preparedness.

"Have you carried ice-cream around for a week…and sent the others on errands…just to gossip with me?"

Erza began to sweat. _This wasn't part of the script! ...No, wait, I can use this…_

Erza imitated Natsu and scratched the back of her head sheepishly, putting on her best attempt at a reassuring smile. "Ahh, you got me, I was just really looking forward to spending time with you, sorry Lucy…"

Lucy immediately began to panic and apologise profusely, taking the spoonful of ice-cream offered to her. Erza laughed to herself, she'd watched Natsu guilt Lucy enough times to have a rough idea of how to do it by now.

"Er…so what was it you wanted to talk about exactly?" Lucy asked tentatively, still a little wary about the road she was being manoeuvred down.

"Oh…you know" Erza waved her hand airily. "Just girl stuff…how are you feeling? Excited, nervous?"

Lucy smiled, it was probably all in her head, what agenda could Erza possibly have?

"Yeah, good. I'm nervous I guess, the guys we're following must be seriously strong to break out of the capital prison."

"Mmm, yeah, I agree, I agree…so…how is it working with a different team? Is this your first mission without Natsu?" Erza asked innocently, knowing the answer full well.

"Oh…yeah I guess it is…" Lucy laughed uneasily. "I've worked with you and Wendy before so it's not totally different. Laxus and Freed are polite but don't talk to me so much…I guess it's a little quieter than I'm used to…" Lucy trailed off.

 _Was that a hint of sadness in her voice?_ Erza thought excitedly. _This is a good chance to subtly detect her feelings!_

"Yeah, it is more fun when Natsu is around." Erza stated bluntly.

"I didn't say anything about Natsu!" Lucy squawked indignantly.

"It's OK!" Erza put her hands up instinctively. "I miss him too."

"Y-you do?" Lucy asked, a little taken aback.

"Of course, he's a good friend, and a lively teammate."

"Yeah! Natsu is a good friend…I hope he doesn't blow anything up at the guild while we're gone." Lucy added, sighing.

"Me too, me too…although I'd be more worried about your apartment, Lucy." Erza nodded sagely.

"W-what? Why my apartment?" Lucy spluttered.

"Natsu spends a lot more time there than he does at the guild, wouldn't you say?" Erza probed.

"Uh, I guess, maybe. I don't think he'll be there if I'm not though."

"I suppose you're right, Natsu only hangs out at your apartment because that's where you are, of course that makes sense."

Erza carefully watched Lucy's reaction out of the corner of her eye. There was no major outward change as Lucy opted not to respond to this statement.

An awkward pause stretched between them, Lucy staring into the fire vacantly, Erza pondering her next move. Lucy was already closing up, Erza needed a crowbar to wedge the conversation back open.

"Lucy?"

"Yeah?"

"Tell me the story about how you met Natsu, I don't think I've heard it before."

"Eh? Really?"

"I was out slaying a monster somewhere, when I came back to the guild you were there and someone told me Natsu had invited you. Aside from the fact you defeated 20 Vulcans in your first job, I don't know much about the beginning of your Fairy Tail career."

"Ahaaa, right, those Vulcans…Well, actually, Natsu saved me. Not on purpose of course! A sleazy wizard called Bora had a group of girls, myself included, under a love enchantment, but Natsu broke it up by barging in, you know how Natsu is?" Lucy laughed. "After that I treated him and Happy to lunch for saving me…and then I got tricked and captured by Bora…and Natsu saved me _again_. I had told Natsu I wanted to join Fairy Tail, so he just grabbed my hand and dragged me along…" Lucy smiled, soaking in the nostalgia.

"And you've been partners ever since." Erza prompted.

"Yeah, we formed a team pretty much straight away, he's such a laidback guy, it's easy to just fall into his pace and go with the flow."

"What did he say when he asked you to join his team?" Erza enquired.

Lucy was about to answer, but cocked her head all of a sudden and eyed Erza cautiously. "Why? What's with all the questions about Natsu?"

"Nothing! Nothing!" Erza lied, eyebrows raising in fake surprise. "…No one's ever asked me to be part of their team before…And I've always just ordered people to be part of my teams…I was wondering what it was like…" Erza trailed off sadly, praying a guilt trip would work for a second time.

"Oh! I'm sorry Erza! Uh, he just kind of blurted it out randomly…I had just summoned Plue…and then he said that it was Plue's idea!" Lucy burst out laughing as the blanks in her memory were slowly filled in.

"Typical Natsu…did he say why he asked you?" Erza continued, pushing forward again.

"Hmm, sort of. He said I was…weird."

Erza nodded, hoping she'd elaborate, but that was apparently it. _Damn it, Natsu._

Another silence stretched between them, as expected, Lucy was a lot harder to extract information from than Natsu. And on that note, any more follow up questions would just be too suspicious at this juncture.

"Erza, I thought you wanted to gossip?" Lucy asked casually, taking another scoop of ice-cream.

"O-oh, sorry, I got side-tracked thinking about Natsu" Erza quickly replied. Rather than reducing the tension in the air however, Lucy looked at Erza oddly, almost like she was trying to read her face this time.

 _How do you even gossip? What would Mira do? …Boys! Girls gossip about boys, I remember that!_

"Lucy! Who do you think will be the next Fairy Tail couple? I noticed Gajeel and Levy are getting pretty close…"

Lucy's face immediately brightened as she started gushing over how happy her friend was these days, even if Gajeel was a little scary. Erza relaxed as she let Lucy's rambling wash over her, the interrogation was still alive, now she just had to get it back on the tracks.

"…And so that's why Gajeel and Levy are perfect for each other!" Lucy finished finally.

"Oh? Yes, I agree completely…So who else is there in Fairy Tail? …Gray and Juvia? They are sooo cute together!" Erza enthused, trying to embody Mira as best she could.

"Ooooh maybe!" Lucy giggled in excitement. "I will be so happy for Juvia when Gray finally admits his feelings!"

"Yeah, me too. It's so frustrating when two friends like each other but don't take the next step." Erza hinted meaningfully.

Like a deer in the wild, Lucy immediately stiffened, her senses alerting her to danger. She could feel the framework of a trap slowly ensnaring her, but couldn't quite pinpoint the threat.

"R-right, so um, who else…oh! Elfman and Evergreen!" Lucy started again nervously, keen to distance herself from whatever Erza was hinting.

"Ooh that's a good one, Lucy!" Erza agreed enthusiastically. "They would be so much happier together if they stopped denying their attraction…"

"Y-yeah…" Lucy found herself again on the back foot, although against what she did not know. She felt like she was circling the drain…for something, and Erza was perched, ready for her to get sucked down.

Erza also felt she had Lucy around about where she wanted her, but couldn't find a segue back to Natsu. Flame Erza took this moment to appear on Erza's left shoulder again.

"You know, Erza, we could play the _Lisanna_ card. Make Lucy think she'll lose Natsu if she doesn't do anything about it."

Erza gulped, that was low…but what other options did she have?

Heaven Erza materialised, quivering with rage. "How dare you, how dare you play your friends off against each other! There is no justification for this kind of manipulation!"

Flame Erza shrugged, "It's for the greater good."

"The ends do not justify the means" Heaven Erza hissed.

"Yes they do!"

"No they don't!"

"Erza?" Lucy cut through the argument. "You're kind of spacing out…do you want to call it a night? Your watch doesn't start for another five hours."

"NO! I mean, not yet! …There's one other couple we haven't talked about…"

"YES!" screamed Flame Erza.

"NO!" shouted Heaven Erza.

"Oh?" Lucy asked hesitantly.

"Yeah…you and…"

"TOO FORWARD!" Flame and Heaven Erza yelled together.

"You and… Loke! Natsu told me Loke is pursuing you, and you have quite the history together." Erza winked slyly, dismissing both miniature forms from the conversation.

Lucy laughed in relief. "I don't know if Loke is serious…but I'm definitely not interested!"

"Really? Definitely? You sound very certain!"

"Oh yeah" Lucy chuckled, "He's not my type."

"I understand, I understand…so what is your type then? Or should I say…who is your type?" Erza pressed forward, pretending to tease Lucy as she blushed.

"No one!"

"You don't have a crush?"

"No way!"

"Calm down, Lucy!" Erza laughed, keeping the conversation light. "I was only joking, but you do have to tell me your ideal type of boyfriend!"

"Nooooo wayyyyy!"

"Come on Lucy! It's just between us girls! We're on a sleepover!"

"WE'RE ON AN S-CLASS MISSION!"

Erza pouted in her pyjamas and ate her ice-cream sadly, waiting for Lucy to fold.

"Gah! Fine!"

Erza smiled evilly. "So, what would you prefer, a great body or a great mind?"

"Erza!" Lucy exclaimed, already blushing.

"Whoa, I'm not one of the options, sorry Lucy!"

Lucy buried her face in her hands, she knew she'd walked right into that one. "Uhhh, I guess I'd prefer a great mind…my ideal boyfriend is someone I can have an intellectual conversation with, someone who can keep me mentally active."

"Seeee? That wasn't so hard!" Erza laughed, disguising her disappointment over a blatantly anti-Natsu response. "What about looks? Someone who is clean cut and refined? Or someone a little more wild and rugged?"

Lucy scrunched up her face in embarrassment at the question, but still answered. "I guess, clean cut and refined. If we are together, HYPOTHETICALLY, then we'll be going out to fancy restaurants and the like, I want to be able to show off my boyfriend to other people. Yep, straight, combed hair, crisp suit, and perfect manners."

 _0/2…We are officially off script…_

Erza began to sweat, maybe Natsu wasn't the right partner for Lucy after all.

"Ok…last question, I promise! Your dream boyfriend, wizard or non-wizard?"

Lucy went into some thought, causing Erza to sweat further. _This is an easy one! Of course you want to be with a wizard!_

"I guess, I'd have to say my dream boyfriend would…not be a wizard. If we're going to be settling down one day and starting a family, we both need steady incomes from respectable jobs. Being a part of Fairy Tail is fun, but it's not ideal for raising kids, and the risk is too great as well. Think about all the times Natsu has nearly died, I don't want to be a single parent."

Erza was so shocked by the thoroughness of Lucy's reasoning that it took her a few moments to fully comprehend what she had just said.

"…Why Natsu?"

"W-what?"

"You said 'think about all the times Natsu has nearly died'. I never said anything about Natsu, I just asked wizard or non-wizard."

Lucy immediately went bright red and started stuttering.

"T-that doesn't mean anything! I just meant like, you know, Natsu is a wizard, and you asked about wizards and"-

"Yes, but when given a scenario about potentially dating a wizard, the person that immediately came to mind for you was Natsu…interesting." Erza cut across coolly. Lucy had slipped, and now it was time to go on the attack.

"It's not what you think!" Lucy raged.

"You know what I think? I think you answered those three questions with Natsu in mind for all of them, you're so scared of your feelings that you tried to convince yourself he isn't your ideal partner."

"Natsu's just my friend!" Lucy went on, defiantly. "It's only natural after the amount of time we've spend together that I would use him as an example!"

"Yes, you do spend a lot of time together…"

"That's not what I meant!"

True to her reputation, Lucy had not crumbled. She'd gone into damage control and immediately started plastering over the cracks in her shield. _This is no longer the time for subtle manoeuvring_ , Erza thought, _I have to land the knockout punch_.

Lucy huffed in her seat, acting shocked that someone could even _suggest_ she was attracted to Natsu. Despite that haughty exterior, she was vulnerable, Erza just needed something to break through her exposed defences.

"But it's true that you see Natsu every day?"

"Y-yes, but I see most of you guys every day!"

"Ahh, but is it true you've seen Natsu every day since you first met?"

Lucy was momentarily pulled out of her stubbornness as the realisation hit her, but quickly sank back into her comfort zone. "Yeah, I guess, we're just friends though."

"Is it true that Natsu waits for you in your apartment?"

"That's because he's weird! We're just friends!"

"Is it true he sleeps in your bed?"

"Not with me in it!"

"Is it true he uprooted our town's Rainbow Sakura tree, just so you could see it from your apartment?"

"Y-yeah, but it was just a friendly gesture!"

"Is it true you've sent Natsu a letter at every town we've passed so far?"

"Erza! We're just friends!"

Erza sighed, her offensive was falling apart at the seams. The sad fact was that the overwhelming majority of evidence could be explained away like Lucy was doing.

 _Think, Erza, think! If there was any damning evidence that occurred previously, I wouldn't be interrogating her right now. The only way forward is to exploit something she's said today. She must have tripped up somewhere. There must have been something…think!_

The silence stretching between the two friends was only interrupted by the crackling of the fire. For some reason the sound reminded Erza of Natsu's laugh. Usually right after he'd blown something up, or knocked someone over in his usual careless manner.

 _Natsu…Lucy…what am I missing? You're meant to be together, it's clearly love…love? …LOVE! THAT'S IT!_

"Lucy?"

"Oh no, Erza, not more relationship questions! I think I should just go"-

"Just one last thing! I swear!" Erza added seriously.

"Fine" Lucy yawned, rolling her eyes.

"It's about the story when you and Natsu met for the first time."

"Right."

"You said a wizard called Bora had you under a love enchantment."

"Yes, they're outlawed, but he was real sleazy." Lucy commented bitterly.

"Exactly! Exactly…when Natsu barged in and saved you, were any of the other girls under Bora's spell saved?"

Lucy shook her head, brow furrowing in confusion. "No, just me, why?"

"Mmm, you see, love enchantments are outlawed not just because they are unethical, but because they are seriously powerful. They can't be broken by something as trivial as a minor distraction."

"Really? That's how it was for me though."

Erza shook her head. "But no one else was broken from the spell by Natsu, why do you think that was?"

Lucy thought for a few moments but eventually shook her head, "I don't know."

"A love enchantment can only be broken two ways. One is the caster voluntarily releasing the target."

"That definitely did not happen." Lucy scoffed.

"I agree." Erza continued, a smug smile beginning to form. "The other way…is by the intervention of the target's one true love."

Lucy did not have a witty comeback for this as her mouth hung open slightly.

"So…" Erza continued, closing in on her prey, "Are you going to keep denying how you feel about Natsu to me?"

Lucy stuttered, blushing furiously. "I…Natsu…we…"

 _YES! SAY IT!_

"YOOOOOO!"

Erza clenched her fists, trying to contain the rage about to explode out of her.

Laxus, Freed, and Wendy, all entered the camp, having completed their respective tasks.

"I'm going to sleep, good night!" Lucy squeaked hastily, before diving into her sleeping bag.

And just like that, the moment was gone. Erza sighed bitterly, the next time the topic got brought up Lucy would be ready with a dozen counter measures, arguments, and explanations. The element of surprise was well and truly lost. Erza had skirted the truth, of course not all love enchantments were the same, and it is possible that Bora was using a weaker version. Maybe because Lucy operated on a higher brain wave, a simple distraction was all that it took to snap her out of it. Erza did not think this was the case, but there was no doubt that once Lucy composed herself it would be an infallible argument.

No, this interrogation was completely dead. They had a mission to focus on tomorrow, there was no cornering Lucy again in the immediate future. This was an inescapable defeat. It couldn't get much worse.

"Hey Erza, nice pyjamas!"

"Shut up, Laxus."

 **Next time! Erza gets desperate!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you to everyone who favourited, followed, or reviewed.**

"Do you have the package?" Erza murmured softly.

A cloaked figure slid the brown parcel wordlessly across the table. Erza untied it as carefully as she could, hands trembling slightly. Was this going to be the breakthrough she'd been searching for?

The prison break job had been a success, although not without some problems towards the end. The escapees, as expected, had been very strong, but Team Erza had ultimately emerged victorious. Laxus had taken most of the damage protecting Freed to ensure the trapping fields remained up, but it was nothing Wendy couldn't fix afterwards.

No, the biggest problem for Erza was that Lucy was now careful not to be left alone together. They were still friendly as usual in the group setting, but the moment Lucy sensed potential isolation, she slipped away. Two weeks had passed since their return to Fairy Tail, and Lucy had offered no second chances.

Erza had wondered what her own goal was now. She _knew_ that Lucy had suppressed feelings for Natsu, and she _knew_ that Natsu had feelings for Lucy but was too dense to understand what they were. She didn't want to label what she was doing as 'matchmaking', it was a very Mira-ish. She just wanted them to announce their feelings, too each other. _Be friends, or be lovers, don't sit on the fence!_

This desire for hard proof, something physical that Natsu could comprehend, and Lucy couldn't undermine, had led Erza into the underworld of Magnolia. Corrupt city detectives, free lancing private eyes, anyone who bought and sold data, the spiders, the snakes, and the weasels. Erza had gotten her hands dirty, trying to uncover leads, mine information, and find real evidence.

Up until now, her efforts had been relatively fruitless. Any gossip magazine in the city could give you a paragraph on the relationship between the 'Salamander' and the 'Key Princess', and none of the covert sources she'd tried had turned up much more than that.

" _Oh yeah, the Salamander and the Key Princess are definitely an item, anyone can see that."_

" _They are always on missions together."_

" _I've seen the Salamander leave her apartment late at night many times."_

" _I heard Salamander burns people to a crisp just for looking at the Princess wrong!"_

" _The Salamander and the Princess had a furry blue baby together!"_

Erza was considering giving up in her pursuit, when she received a mysterious letter in the mail.

' _Erza Scarlet, I have the information you desire, but it will come at a significant price. Meet me in the corner stall at the Gomorrah Tavern. 11pm, this Saturday night. Destroy this message.'_

And so, Erza now found herself sitting across from a stranger, dressed completely in black, his face shaded by the hood of his cloak. The stranger sat patiently, waiting for her to finish opening the package.

"T-this, this is…incredible…who are you?" Erza couldn't believe what she was seeing, hundreds upon hundreds of photographs. Natsu's cheeky grin, and Lucy's chirpy smile, dominated the frame of nearly every photo in front of her. Some taken at the park, some in the guild, some from the streets, and a lot from inside Lucy's apartment.

Before Erza could start sifting through this treasure trove, the stranger reached out and dragged the opened parcel back across the table.

"Before we get carried away, let's talk terms." The stranger's voice was barely above a whisper but it sounded vaguely familiar.

"There are over five hundred photographs here, in excruciating detail I have the 'friendship' of Mr. Dragneel and Ms. Heartfilia mapped out in its entirety. When we come to an agreement on the price, I will allow you fifteen minutes to look through my collection and select five to keep for your ongoing investigation. Everything else remains with me. Do you understand?"

Erza mulled over the proposition carefully. She was excited, she wanted to do the deal, buy the photos, and start building her final case…but now there was some unease creeping in. Who was this guy? Lucy and Natsu were her friends, and she didn't appreciate some stranger running around with such intimate documents of them.

As if sensing her unease, the stranger pulled the photos closer. "If you don't want to play ball then I'm happy to walk out right now and you'll never see these photos again."

"Let's say I don't want to play ball, and I don't want to let you walk out of here either, what then?" Erza challenged defiantly.

"I don't think that would work very well for you" the stranger replied simply. "If you want to reach across the table and snatch these photos from me, I offer to you now this golden opportunity." With that, the stranger leaned back, leaving the photos resting unguarded on the table.

Erza didn't need to think twice, she immediately lunged out of her chair and grabbed the parcel before the stranger could react. She tucked it under her arm and made a dash for the door, bursting out into the night air, and escaping to safety to keep all this glorious evidence for herself.

At least that's how it played out in Erza's mind, because as soon as she attempted to lunge across the table she found that she was glued to her seat by a sticking enchantment.

"Release. Me." Erza hissed through gritted teeth, her fingers stretching just short of the package.

"Of course." The stranger purred. "Once I am very, very, VERY, far away from here. However before that, you have to decide whether or not I leave without five of my photos…"

Erza sighed in defeat. "What's the price?"

The stranger leaned forward again, eager the transaction was going ahead. "There are actually…three prices. The first price is monetary, 10,000,000 Jewel. And before you lie, I know for a fact you have well over that amount, the S-Class job you recently completed paid out close to that figure, and you're a notorious hoarder."

Erza closed her mouth, the protests snuffed out before they'd begun.

"The second price…" The stranger coughed almost like he was embarrassed. "The second price is…a lifetime supply of fish."

Erza just stared blankly across the table.

"How can I pay you a lifetime supply of fish, how would that even work?"

The stranger didn't respond immediately, instead there appeared to be a muffled conversation from inside of his cloak.

"Er…basically, just tell the bartender at Fairy Tail that if anyone buys fish, it goes on your tab. Forever."

Erza narrowed her eyes, but elected to move on. "And the third price?"

The stranger started to visibly shake a little, and Erza could hear the faint outline of another muffled conversation taking place inside the coat.

"…Just say it…no…pussy…don't mess…she'll kill…"

Eventually the stranger coughed and continued with his demands. "Uh…the third price…the third price is…a nude spread in the next edition of 'Playboy Fiore'…"

Erza went bright red. "H-how can you even suggest such a thing!? If I ever find out who you are I'll rip you apart limb from limb!"

The stranger continued to shake, but didn't back down. "T-those are my terms, so accept or I'll leave with the photos."

Erza scowled, there's no way she could accept this bizarre deal, but she couldn't let him leave either. _Maybe I can negotiate a compromise…_

"How about this, I'll give you 5,000,000 Jewel, I'll pay for the fish tab for one year, and I'll do a bikini photo shoot for 'Sorcerer Monthly'. Is that acceptable?"

There was another hasty conversation from within the cloak, slightly more audible this time as the participants were getting angry with each other.

"Greedy cat…pay cut…just imagine without…pervert…shut it…I can release the…fine!"

"Right, so we- er I, have decided on a counter-offer." The stranger began finally. "Your terms on the money and the fish are accepted…but the nude photoshoot is sadly non-negotiable."

Erza seethed in her chair, naturally that was the one condition she couldn't bring herself to accept... _Maybe…Would it be so bad? This was for the happiness of her friends after all…_

The seconds ticked by, but the stranger showed no signs of budging, despite his obvious discomfort with the demand.

"Final counter-offer…" Erza began slowly. "A bikini photo shoot with a couple of topless shots, but my face is hidden. Take it or leave it."

Instead of the usual argument, there was silence from within the cloak. A whole minute went by before a faint murmur could be heard, prompting the stranger to start speaking.

"Your terms are accepted, please sign this magically binding contract, and you can start looking through the photos."

Erza breathed a sigh of relief, the investigation lived, and the only cost was her dignity, and a lot of fish. Erza signed the contract half-heartedly, essentially signing away her ability to use magic if she didn't fulfil her end of the bargain, and pushed it back across the table. The stranger scanned it quickly and nodded, pushing the parcel back across to her.

"Your time begins, now."

 **OoOoO**

"So, did you find what you were looking for?"

Erza smiled down at her five photos, relief washing over her that her pending embarrassment would be well worth it.

"Absolutely, and not just for my Lutsu investigation."

"Lutsu?"

"Yeah! Lucy-Natsu, when you put it together it makes Lutsu! Catchy right?"

"Er, I guess…not really…" The stranger made to leave but Erza continued talking.

"Yeah, these photos also gave me some clues as to who you are. Who _all_ of you are."

A visible shiver ran up the stranger's spine.

"You see, despite the fact that Natsu is always accompanied by Happy, the blue fur ball is absent in nearly every photo taken from inside Lucy's apartment. Conversely, Happy is visible in lots of photos taken out on missions, but this time Gray is missing. And finally, Gray and Happy can be seen in photos taken at the guild…most of which are shots taken from above, and missing a certain Master…"

"Very astute, Erza." The stranger replied stiffly. "Happy, Gray, and Master Makarov, I did indeed steal these photos from all three of them. You can't hold any of them responsible for my actions."

"I see." Erza replied dangerously, eyes narrowing.

"If that's all then I'll be"-

"Not quite" Erza quickly interrupted. "There is one last thing, and it's about this sticking enchantment."

"Oh?"

"You see, a sticking enchantment in itself isn't that powerful, but to hold it against a struggling target for this amount of time…that is well and truly an impressive magical feat."

The stranger said nothing, although he shifted a little closer to the edge of the booth.

"The thing is, you have to concentrate the entire time while holding the enchantment. If your concentration slips for even a second, you'd need to re-cast it, but in that moment the target would notice and escape…so, Master, try holding your concentration during this sneak peek of the bikini shoot…"

"Don't look, Master!" The stranger blurted out, grabbing at his wriggling stomach.

Erza smiled and ex-quipped into her beach outfit, running a finger along the string of material seductively.

"No! Master!"

Erza immediately felt the sticking enchantment break and she sprang to her feet, pinning the stumbling figure up against the wall with her forearm, her spare hand reaching into her pocket dimension.

"Wait! No! It wasn't my idea I swear!" The cloaked figure squirmed, raising his hands in surrender.

Erza smiled evilly, and pulled out a wad of cash. "Your 5,000,000 Jewel, in full. Next I'll be going to Fairy Tail to clean off all the blood, and open the fish tab. After that I'll go do the photoshoot, fulfilling the contract. It's a pity none of you will be around to enjoy any of it…"

Erza reached back into the pocket dimension and slowly pulled out a long sword.

"Uh, Erza." Heaven's Wheel Erza appeared on her right shoulder.

"What is it?" Erza grumbled. "You better not be here to tell me to spare these fools."

"Oh no, please castrate them slowly and mercilessly." Heaven Erza smiled sweetly. "I just thought I'd remind you about your clothes."

"My wha?"-

Erza immediately jumped back in embarrassment, realising she was still in her bikini, the entire clientele of the bar watching her with great interest. After an awkward moment of attempting to cover herself with her hands, she remembered about ex-quipping, and changed back to her Heart Kreuz armour. Silencing the negative crowd reaction with a stony glare, Erza turned back to the stranger, but he, or rather they, had taken the moment's distraction to escape.

Erza looked around in disbelief, the escape was impossibly fast, she hadn't taken her eyes of off them for longer than a few seconds.

"Down there." A patron whispered, pointing to a section of the skirting board.

Sure enough, a tiny black figure, smaller than a mouse, was scampering away.

"Size magic…thank you." Erza muttered as she swooped down and grabbed them in one hand, giving them a squeeze for good measure.

"No problem! Thanks for the show, love." the man grinned wolfishly, eyes surveying her curves.

Erza went bright red again and scampered out of the tavern, gripping her prey tightly.

"Where are you taking us?" squeaked one of her captives.

"To find Wendy, you three are about to get a beating to within an inch of your life for that stunt, I think it's better she's on standby, don't you agree?"

"…aye…" Happy whined.

"Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned…" Makarov noted sagely.

"Oh, so now you decide to play the wise old master?" Gray mumbled bitterly.

Erza silenced all three of them with another squeeze of her fist.

 **Just a small filler chapter to set up the finale, thanks for reading.**

 **Next time! Showdown at Fairy Tail! Erza confronts Natsu and Lucy!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Here it is, the finale. Thank you for all the support!**

* * *

"Hey Ice cube, who gave you the black eye?"

Gray shivered in his seat at the Fairy Tail bar, his mind wandering back to that fateful night when he'd attempted something incredibly stupid. Of course it had all been Makarov's idea, the guild master always had a finger on the pulse of the underworld and had discovered Erza's activities. After some blackmail with alleged photos of him and Juvia, Gray had decided to go along with the plan, a massive mistake. Erza had allowed Wendy to save them from permanent damage, but had stopped short of completely healing a lot of their injuries.

"None of your business, flame freak."

Natsu scowled at being left in the dark, but went back to his drink without aggravating matters further. Something was happening, things were changing, people were acting different, and Natsu couldn't understand why. He kept catching Erza staring at him, Lucy was all secretive and withdrawn, and Gray, Happy, and Gramps were all mysteriously beaten up. There was something weird about today as well, the whole guild was accounted for, Gildarts and Laxus were both present, milling about quietly in different corners. Even Loke was out of the spirit world because ' _No reason, Pinky'_. Someone was paying for all Happy's fish, and the Master kept breaking into random nosebleeds. And finally, the mission board had been closed for 'maintenance' for the last week.

"Too weird" Natsu muttered between sips.

"Do you know what's going on, Natsu?" Elfman muttered from behind the bar. Mirajane had muscled him into working due to the packed house.

"No idea, it's gotta be something to do with Erza though, she's the only one who can organise everyone here like this." Natsu muttered back, casting a sideways glance at Erza.

She was sitting alone in the centre of the guild, scanning pages and pages of notes, whispering under her breath between mouthfuls of cake.

"Hopefully it's something manly" Elfman whispered.

"You know what? I'm actually with you for once. With this much firepower here we better get at least one brawl." Natsu cracked his knuckles, grinning wildly.

Mira interrupted them with a glare, prompting Elfman to get back to work.

"Salamander. Frosty. What's the word?"

Gajeel slid onto the barstool next to Natsu, nodding at both of them.

"Nothing" Gray muttered darkly, brooding over his drink.

Natsu rolled his eyes. "I don't know, no one's saying anything to me."

"There's a shock" Gajeel snickered.

"Hey! You don't know either!"

Gajeel ignored him and banged on the counter to get a drink. After Elfman scuttled off with the order, Gajeel and Natsu turned to survey the guild from the bar.

"You know, there's a lot of people here, this may be a good opportunity to debut my latest song…" Gajeel rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"That's a great idea!" Natsu yelled excitedly. "That would be the fastest way to get a fight started. Go on, get up there!"

Gajeel finished his drink as soon as it arrived and departed to fetch his guitar, not caring what Natsu's motivations were as long as he had an audience.

Gray groaned, "Please no, I can't stand his singing, and I'm too sore to fight right now."

"Juvia will fight for you." Juvia whispered from underneath Gray's stool where she was hiding.

"Juvia! What the hell are you doing down there!" Gray spluttered.

"Gray, your clothes." Cana pointed out from down the bar.

"Ack!"

"Juvia doesn't mind."

"Stripper freak!"

"Flame for brains!"

"You two are disturbing my drinking!"

"Was that a damsel in distress I hear?"

"Beat it, pervert lion."

"This is getting manly!"

"Ahem, thank you all for being here today, my first song is called"-

"NOOOO!"

"This is more like it!" Natsu laughed. "I'm getting all fired up!"

"Oooh a barroom brawl…how nostalgic" Laxus drawled, wandering over and shedding his coat.

"FIGHT ME!"

"WooaAOooOOOOoooHHHH-Oh-Oh sweeeet child of miiiiiii-ine"

"BOOOOO! Get off the stage!"

"And cut your hair!"

All hell broke loose. The addition of Laxus and Juvia to the festivities made for an even more destructive brawl than usual. Much to everyone's surprise however, through all the fighting Erza remained absorbed in her notes. At least until Gajeel's broken guitar landed in her half-finished cake.

"Enough" whispered Erza, to no change.

"ENOUGH!"

The whole guild froze mid-fight. Natsu clinging to Laxus' neck, trying to hang on to a headlock. Juvia latched on Gray's abs to 'shield' him from Elfman. Cana's boot hovering a couple of inches in front of Loke's face. And finally a huge pile of wizards struggling to keep Gajeel pinned down.

Erza scanned the scene with mild disdain, before sighing and shaking her head. "How disappointing, can't we all grow up a little bit? Act our age, just this once? For shame…"

Everyone bowed their heads in silence, except for Gajeel who was physically restrained from moving.

"Now that that's out of the way…" Erza continued, arms on her hips. "Everyone! Listen up! You five, organise these benches like this. You lot over there, move the tables so they are that shape. Mira, close the bar, and pat down Cana for any booze and confiscate it. Elfman, Laxus, clean up all this mess. Levy, prepare to start transcribing an official record. Wendy, go fetch the Master. Happy and Gray, you sit over here. No, Juvia, you sit over there. Natsu, you and Lucy sit over this side. Loke, Gildarts, sit at that bench there. Gajeel, come over here. Go!"

The guild split in all different directions, carrying out Erza's various orders. When the chaos died down the main floor of Fairy Tail resembled a court room, except for the jury bench replacing the judge's podium.

"What's all this about, Erza?" Makarov asked as Wendy led him into the room.

"You'll see in a minute. Master, I need you seated over there by Gildarts."

Makarov was ushered over to a slightly elevated bench running along the back wall of the guild, taking his place by Gildarts, Mira, Laxus, and Loke. Wendy was directed over to the general audience, seated in rows facing the elevated bench from across an empty stretch of floor. One table ran along the side of this empty square, occupied by a thoroughly confused Natsu and Lucy. They were facing inwards so both the elevated bench and the crowd could see them. Levy perched herself on a stool in the corner, fingers quivering in anticipation above the keys of her typewriter. Reedus stood next to her, painting the scene on an easel. Erza strode out into the middle of the empty space and cleared her throat.

"Welcome, everyone, to the trial of Lucy Heartfilia and Natsu Dragneel"-

"Trial!" Lucy interrupted. "What did we do!?"

"Nothing!" Erza hissed angrily. "And you should be ashamed of yourselves."

Lucy immediately quietened, looking across at Natsu worriedly. Natsu shrugged, a bored expression on his face.

"If you'll look to the main bench, you'll see a panel of respected, experienced, and intelligent judges that I've assembled here today to adjudicate this case impartially."-

"Hey! How come we're not up there?" Wakaba and Macao yelled out angrily.

"Please also look to the corner" Erza continued, ignoring the outburst, "where you'll see court scribe Levy recording the proceedings."

"Way to go Levy!"

"You rock!"

"And finally, Bailiff Gajeel standing in the back, who has my permission to personally deal with any more unauthorised comments from the peanut gallery."

Gajeel smirked evilly as Jet, Droy, Wakaba, and Macao squirmed under his predatory gaze.

"What are the charges?" Lucy asked meekly, thinking over all the things her and Natsu…mainly Natsu…had destroyed out on missions.

"Lucy, Natsu, I charge you both with being in love, how do you plead?"

"Hm? I wasn't listening."

"NOT GUILTY!"

A rush of whispers ran through the guild hall, but they were quickly silenced by the cracking of Gajeel's knuckles.

"You can't charge me with that! It's ridiculous!" Lucy huffed.

Erza smiled warmly at her. "By all means if you don't find the validity of this court acceptable, I offer to you now this golden opportunity to walk out and boycott the trial."

"Fine, I will- Hey!"

Lucy attempted to get out of her seat but found she was glued there by a sticking enchantment.

"Not leaving? Well, on with the case!"

Lucy slumped on the table in defeat while Natsu patted her on the back.

"It's going to be alright, Lucy. I'm sure Erza's play will be over soon."

"Before I commence with my visual evidence, I'd like to refer to a few preliminary events to establish the defendants' relationship. Lucy and Natsu met in Hargeon Town, where Natsu breaks a powerful love enchantment Bora the Prominence had cast on Lucy. He saves her again from being sold into slavery and invites her back to Fairy Tail, something he'd never done to anyone else he'd ever met out on missions. From that point, up until the S-class job a few weeks ago, Lucy and Natsu are inseparable. They form a team and go on every mission together. In fact, both of them will admit that up until a few weeks ago, they had seen each other every single day since they'd met."

Erza turned to Natsu and Lucy for confirmation, to which Natsu nodded enthusiastically, earning him a punch on the arm from Lucy.

"Master Makarov, you've known Natsu since he joined Fairy Tail, how would you describe his behaviour, specifically socially, before the arrival of Lucy."

Makarov mulled the question over for a moment. "Well, he was a fun lad to have around, but frankly he was somewhat of a loner. He rarely went on missions with anyone but Happy. He'd just disappear for weeks at a time and never really had more than a rivalry with the other members of the guild."

"Right, and in your own words, how does that compare to the Natsu of today?"

"Oh, well, it's like night and day. Natsu's stopped taking solo missions, his relationship with Erza and Gray specifically has improved greatly. He doesn't disappear anymore and spends a lot more time just hanging around Magnolia. Rampant destruction aside, he's become the poster boy of Fairy Tail."

"Would you say that Natsu is a happier person since Lucy arrived?"

"Most definitely."

"Thank you, Master."

"Hey! That doesn't mean anything!" Lucy interrupted.

"Shhh Lucy, you can't yell out during a play."

Erza smiled at the two of them. "You're right, there's nothing concrete about that story, I'm just establishing the strength of your relationship"-

"Friendship."

"Friendship is a type of relationship."

"Yeah well you're misleading the judges when you say it like that."

The judges pulled their heads together into a huddle and whispered hurriedly, before Gildarts emerged to make a statement.

"The judges side with Ms. Heartfilia, until proven otherwise please refer to their relationship as a 'friendship'."

Erza smiled sweetly, _So Lucy is up for the fight? Good._

"The next piece of background information I'd like to establish is the couple's living arrangement.

"Objection!"

"Are there not two of you on trial? Or as some would say, a couple?"

"You're clearly twisting the language to misconstrue our relati- friendship!"

"Sustained. Refrain from calling them a couple, if you could." Gildarts announced.

"Anyway" Erza continued, smiling, "As most of you here would know, Lucy lives alone in an apartment by the river. While Natsu lives in a house on the outskirts of town. Despite being of opposite genders, their _friendship_ is so strong that Lucy, an upper-class raised child of the Heartfilia estate, bucks the normal social etiquettes and frequently allows Natsu to spend the night at her home."

"Objection! I do not allow him! He just breaks in! And so do you!"

"Ah yes, but I only break in with Natsu's permission, seeing as he practically lives there."

"Objection!"

"That is a rather bold claim to make" Gildarts commented dryly from the judge's bench.

"It is" Erza nodded. I don't have data on hand for how often Natsu has stayed at Lucy's apartment since her move to Magnolia…but I have recorded his visits over the last couple of weeks."

"WHAT!?"

"In the previous 14 nights, Natsu has been at Lucy's apartment on 12 occasions, staying the night 7 of out of those 12 times, and leaving at earliest 10pm on the other 5 nights."

"O-objection…that's an invasion of privacy."

"Overruled, not a valid objection. Go on, Erza."

"Well, using this two week snapshot and extrapolating outwards, it's fair to say that at a minimum, Natsu spends every second night sleeping at Lucy's apartment."

"S-so!? He sleeps on the couch!"

"An open question to the audience, who here regularly sleeps at the residence of someone of the opposite sex, who isn't a blood relative?"

All the Fairy Tail members craned their necks to see if anyone was raising their hands. After a few moments, two of them did.

"Ah, Bisca and Alzack. Please describe your relationship for the court."

"We are uh…married." Alzack said hesitantly, unsure of who he should be helping in the trial.

"And why are you married?"

"Because we are in love, and we wanted to spend the rest of our lives together." Alzack responded promptly.

"Fascinating." Erza pulled out a different sheet of paper. "I'll now read a direct quote from a conversation between myself and Mr. Dragneel. Ahem, _Natsu…if you had to spend the rest of your life with only one person, who-_

 _Lucy._

 _You didn't let me finish!_

 _Didn't have too._ "

A ripple of excited whispers spread through the crowd, extending to the judge's bench as Mira and Loke immediately huddled together for a private conversation.

"He- I, did you?" Lucy started spluttering.

"Hm? I wasn't listening."

"If I may interject." Gildarts cut across the babble. "I understand that this is just the groundwork of your case, but I feel obliged to step in on behalf of Ms. Heartfilia here. We all know how little thought Natsu puts into anything he says."

There was a murmuring of agreement, Erza noted that Lucy looked oddly torn at Gildart's comments.

"Precisely." Erza went on. "In fact Natsu puts so little thought into his words, you can pretty much guarantee whatever those words are, they're coming straight from the heart…but I digress."

There were a few laughs at Natsu's expense from somewhere in the crowd but eventually everyone settled down again.

"Order. Order." Laxus called out half-heartedly. "If the prosecution is finished spouting anecdotal rubbish, we'll take a quick recess to allow the accused to prepare a defence. Fairy Tail court hereby recognizes the case put forward by Ms. Scarlet, evidence will be presented in ten minutes, break."

Erza smiled. Despite Laxus' demeaning nature, things would go ahead. She looked across at the pair, Natsu laughing at Lucy's attempts to break free of the sticking enchantment, and Lucy getting angry at Natsu for laughing. _You two are perfect for each other, and if it takes a court ruling to show you that then so be it._

"You really think you can crack the princess?" Loke smirked as he walked past. "Not for nothing is she the master of keys; that heart of hers is locked up tight."

Erza nodded slowly, "It's impossible for me to unlock her inner feelings. That's why I'm using a crowbar."

 **OoOoO**

"…you may now take the floor."

Erza took a deep breath, this was it. She was sweating profusely, her throat was dry, her stomach churning. This was a performance in front of a crowd. She was acting. On a stage.

Lucy stared at her boldly from the table, Natsu sat next to her with a vacant grin. _Remember why you're here, you can't let your friends down!_

"Esteemed judges, and the rest of my Fairy Tail comrades. We all know about the friendship of Natsu and Lucy. I didn't need to establish how close they are, I'm sure each and every one of you has their own moment they've witnessed between the two. But from here on out that's not enough. I intend to prove that they are in fact romantically in love, and have that verdict confirmed by a judge's decision, or by the confession of a defendant."

Lucy stuck out her tongue at Erza defiantly.

"And so, I present exhibit A."

Erza activated a Lacrima, displaying a hologram for the whole room to see. It was an enlarged photograph of Natsu and Lucy out on a mission together, huddled up by a campfire. Lucy was hunched over, laughing so hard that tears were running down her cheeks, looking across at Natsu who was shoulder to shoulder next to her. Natsu was comically bug-eyed, staring at a burnt and smoking stick in his fist. His expression somewhere between shock and rage that he'd melted yet another marshmallow, the ashy-gooey remains of previous attempts littered at their feet.

The crowd 'awwed' at first, and then 'oohed' as the point of the picture became more apparent after a few seconds. Lucy was wearing Natsu's scarf.

"H-how…who…?" Lucy spluttered in embarrassment, face going red.

"Lucy, can you confirm that this is indeed you and Natsu in the picture, cozied together for warmth on an overnight mission."

"Where did you"-

"Answer the question, Blondey" Laxus sighed from the judges' bench.

"Y-yes. That's us."

"Would you care to elaborate on the scene for us?"

"Er…well. Even with the fire it was still really cold, there isn't much wind cover out in the flatlands. Gray doesn't even generate body heat so he's no help, Happy is too small, so that just leaves Natsu."

"I see" Erza scoffed, "You chose to _snuggle_ up to Natsu by process of elimination."

"WE AREN'T SNUGGLING!"

"Natsu, how did you feel about being so close to Lucy?" Erza changed direction seamlessly.

"Mmm, much warmer."

"How did you feel on the inside though?"

"Warmer? Like I just said."

"But how did you feel emotionally!?"

"Happier, because I was warmer."

Erza massaged the bridge of her nose, the density was too thick for her to wade through.

"Natsu…do you remember the evening in question?"

"Oh yeah!"

"Really? You do have a notoriously bad memory, and a short attention span."

"No, I remember. It was a happy memory with my friends, even though I couldn't cook the marshmallows properly. Lucy cooked one for me eventually and said I was 'hopeless'."

The crowd awwed again as Lucy punched Natsu on the arm and shushed him.

"That's very nice, Natsu. Tell me, why is Lucy wearing your scarf?"

"Oh! Because it was so cold! She was shivering like crazy and Horologium was off-duty. I guess it's her fault for wearing skimpy clothing though…"

"Yes, Lucy's taste in fashion is interesting to say the least." Erza concurred. "Natsu, if Gray was feeling cold, would you lend him your scarf?"

"Hell no!"

"What about Master Makarov?"

"No way!"

"Gildarts?"

"As if!"

"Me?"

"Uh well, no, I wouldn't, sorry."

"But you let Lucy borrow it, why is that?"

"…Lucy is my special friend…and I trust her completely."

Erza gulped… _moment of truth._

"Would you let Happy borrow it? You trust him completely, don't you?"

Natsu frowned in deep thought. The room went dead quiet awaiting his response.

"Uhhh, maybe. I dunno, I guess I would if he needed it…he's important to me too."

The audience awwed again while Lucy raged at Natsu again for being so open, but Erza turned away in annoyance. As cute as it was, it played right into Lucy's hands. " _We're just friends!"_ This hadn't been the breakthrough she'd been looking for.

As if on cue, Erza met eyes with Gildarts, who gave her the look. _Time to move on._

Erza cleared her throat. "Exhibit B!"

The Lacrima changed to a new photo, very different from the first. It was a wide shot of the entire guild, posing as a group on some bleachers. Mirajane had organised it for the annual yearbook, however this wasn't the official photo. This appeared to be taken a few moments before everyone started smiling for the camera, and as usual, it was total chaos.

Gajeel hoisting Droy up into the air, arm pulled back to sock him. Erza attempting to yank a bottle of wine out of Cana's clutches. Carla scolding Happy over something while Wendy fussed over an unconscious Panther Lily. Juvia drooling over Gray as he started to absent-mindedly shed his clothes. Loke hitting on Evergreen, and Elfman beginning to activate his Beast Soul magic behind him. It was typical Fairy Tail, and a truer photo than the one they had taken a minute later.

However through all the pandemonium, Lucy and Natsu stood together in the centre of the frame, almost in a different dimension to their surroundings. Lucy was giggling as she attempted to flatten Natsu's spiked hair, which was successfully rebelling against her comb. Natsu was pouting, arms folded, but his eyes were alive, sparkling as they looked into Lucy's.

Lucy groaned in embarrassment, slumping on the table again. "Where are you getting these from…?"

"Lucy" Erza took a deep breath, about to launch another siege on Fortress Heartfilia. "Please share for us the reasoning behind why you're combing Natsu's hair for this photo."

"W-what? Combing doesn't mean anything! I've combed your hair before! This goof was standing next to me and I didn't want people to think I'd- …I mean, I didn't want to be photographed next to some wild man!"

Erza narrowed her eyes, she had a suspicion that Lucy had nearly stepped on a landmine of her own doing, but tiptoed around it at the last second.

"I see…" Erza played along. "You were only worried about who you would be seen associating with. So fixing Natsu's hair was for your own benefit, not his."

"Uh…yes." Lucy answered, double checking to make sure she wasn't agreeing to anything incriminating.

"So why then are you giggling in the picture? You're clearly having a good time."

"Oh, well…" Lucy opened and closed her mouth a few times, struggling to come up with an answer she liked.

"In fact, it seems to me that you two are totally encapsulated in your own little world, living in a moment fuelled by secret love."

"O-objection!"

"Ms. Heartfilia, I'd be more inclined to side with you if you offered a legitimate counter-argument." Gildarts replied dryly.

Lucy puffed up her cheeks in annoyance, but didn't argue further.

"Is that all from this photo?" Laxus asked, yawning. "This really feels like a waste of time."

"You have to admit, they are looking at each other lovingly, there's no other way to describe it." Mira chipped in, clasping her hands in happiness.

Laxus waved his hand airily. "Maybe, hardly tangible though..."

Erza sighed. _Next photo._

"Exhibit C!"

The Lacrima changed again, and the crowd gasped.

"How could you!?" Levy yelled out.

"Scribe! Strike yourself from the record!" Erza ordered.

A shocked buzz ran through the hall as Lucy buried her face in her hands.

The next photo was an aerial shot from inside Lucy's apartment. Natsu was spread out on Lucy's bed, reading her manuscript. Lucy sat next to him, scribbling down some notes on something that Natsu was currently saying, his finger pointing to a line in her novel. Not only was Lucy allowing someone to read her precious work, but by her expression she was enjoying it. A light smile played at her lips as her gaze seemed to hover closer to Natsu's face, than where he was pointing on the page.

"So, we were all made aware about the trust Natsu has in Lucy, no one here but Lucy has even been let near his scarf. But what about Lucy's trust in Natsu? Well, by a show of hands, who here has been given permission to read Lucy's novel?" Erza announced, consulting the audience.

No one budged, people didn't even bother looking around. Everyone knew how protective Lucy was about her writing.

"Interesting." Erza smiled, "A show of hands for people that have been kicked by Lucy for just asking about her novel?"

A lot of people raised their hands. Loke, Cana, Gray, Happy, and Levy raised both hands.

"Levy, let the record show an overwhelming majority of people raised their hand."

Levy stabbed at the typewriter venomously.

"Lucy, why are you allowing Natsu to read your novel in this picture?"

Lucy groaned and sighed but eventually sat up straight and started to answer.

"I needed Natsu's opinion on one thing, that's all. It was to do with fighting and he is more experienced in that than me. It doesn't mean anything! I'm sorry, Levy!"

"You said I would be the first one to read it!" Levy burst out angrily again.

"Scribe!"

"Yeah yeah…striking it from the record."

"Lucy, how would you describe your relationship with Levy McGarden?"

"We're best friends" Lucy sighed, not meeting Levy's gaze.

"But you trust Natsu more? More than your best friend? What would that make Natsu to you? Something further…?"

"NO! No! He's my best friend too. It's just like, he is always asking and I had writer's block and I thought he could help! I wasn't happy about it!"

"Really? Because your expression says otherwise." Erza zoomed in on Lucy's face, which was the picture of tranquillity.

"Oh, come on, Natsu was reading it for ages, you can't judge me by my expression for one second!"

A smattering of intrigued murmurs ran through the audience and the judges broke into private conversations again. Lucy looked around confused before covering her mouth in shock, realising what she'd just said.

"Oho? Natsu read it 'for ages' did he? Not really 'one thing' then is it? Your stories are catching up to you, Lucy." Erza pounced.

"What I meant to say-… It's like-… I wasn't totally-…" Lucy started stuttering, cracking under the constant pressure.

"Before you tell another lie" Erza interjected, "I'd like to question the photographer, Happy."

"Aye!"

"Traitor cat!" Lucy hissed, as Happy smiled mischievously.

"Happy, how long did Lucy allow Natsu to read her novel?" Erza inquired politely.

"Ahh, I'm not so good with time…but for this one it was daytime when they started, and night time when they finished."

"…This one?" Erza asked, eyebrow raising.

"Oh, recently Lucy lets Natsu read it more, but I still can't!" Happy pouted.

"Well, well, well" Erza turned to Lucy again.

"You can't trust the word of this cat! He'll do anything to cause trouble! He could have been bribed with fish!" Lucy burst out.

"Mmm, let it be known the cat is an unreliable source" Gildarts added from the bench. "If there aren't further photos of this that can be confirmed from different dates, let the previous testimony be regarded as conjecture…unless Ms. Heartfilia wants to confirm it for us?"

"NO! The cat is lying!"

"So mean Lucyyyy" Happy pouted again.

"Erza…" Laxus growled. "What are you hoping to achieve here? The court accepts that Lucy trusts Natsu completely, whether or not she'll admit it. The court also accepts that Natsu trusts Lucy completely, and would probably happily admit it. The problem is that trust, however great, does not equal love. So if you've finished making your point here I'd like you to move on."

"You two better be in love…"

"Scribe!"

The buzz of the crowd grew louder as people broke into their own conversations and theories.

"We're going to call a short recess" Gildarts announced, "The people are getting restless...and at Fairy Tail that's never a good thing. Evidence resumes in 10 minutes."

Erza sighed, 3 punches landed and no knockout, only two swings left. The target was shaken, but determined, and the recess would help her regain composure.

"How's that crowbar going, Erza?" Loke smirked as he walked past.

"It's wedged in there…I just can't find the right leverage" Erza sighed.

 **OoOoO**

"Order. Order." Laxus called out. "Go at it, Erza, but keep it trim, some of us have things to do today."

Erza nodded as she strode back out to the open floor space, activating the Lacrima to show the next photo. _It's time to change tactics._

"WHOAAAAA!"

A roar of excitement ran through the male section of the audience as the gigantic hologram turned to display a full body shot of Lucy at the beach, stripped down to her favourite white bikini.

"WHAT THE HELL! YOU CAN'T SHOW THAT HERE!" Lucy raged, going completely red.

"I'll allow it" Makarov and Loke cut in simultaneously.

"This is the worst day of my life…" Lucy muttered, burying her face in her hands yet again.

"Natsu!" Erza barked suddenly.

"Hai!"

"How do you feel looking at Exhibit D, this picture of Lucy?"

"Happy! Lucy is a weirdo but she pretends she isn't so it's funny when she does weird things!"

The crowd laughed as Lucy groaned. "What is this? Humiliate Lucy day?"

"You could always confess" Erza added slyly.

"Never!"

"You'll never confess your feelings?"

"N-no! I mean yes! You know what I mean! Objection!"

"Sustained, get back on topic, Erza, or move on" Laxus ordered irritably.

Erza nodded. "Natsu, do you understand what physical attraction is?"

"Hm? Ohhh….yeah! I remember Igneel explaining some stuff about birds and bees."

Gildarts and Makarov both quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Right, so looking at this photo of Lucy…" Erza enlarged it to the approval of some in the audience.

"…would you say that you find Lucy physically attractive? Take your time."

Natsu stared at the hologram, unblinking, brow furrowed. The court room waited, and waited, and waited.

"IDIOT! What's taking you so long!?" Lucy burst out angrily.

"I want to do a good job for Erza's play!"

"For the last time, we're not in a play!"

"Natsu! Answer the question!" Erza boomed out, also losing her patience.

"Yes! I do find Lucy physically attractive. Her nose is cute, her skin is soft, her eyes are pretty, her hair is beautiful, and her body is"-

"That'll do!" Erza cut across, going a little pink. It was nothing compared to Lucy though who looked like she was burning up.

"Did you really mean that?" Lucy quietly whispered to Natsu as Erza got distracted by something Laxus had said.

"Huh? Yeah, of course. Why?" Natsu whispered back.

"Why!? …Why did you never tell me before?" Lucy whispered again.

Natsu shrugged. "I didn't want you to think I was a weirdo."

There was a faint ringing in Lucy's ears as the whole world seemed to melt outside of the bubble she and Natsu were in. Outside of that bubble however things were becoming ugly.

"But I still have one photo left!" Erza raged.

"I don't care! You said you would prove love! Instead you've proved friendship, trust, and base attraction, this whole thing is a big waste of time!" Laxus raged back.

"No it isn't! This is really important, the fate of love and happiness hangs in the balance!" Mira jumped to Erza's defence.

Laxus snorted, "Of course you'd say that, no prizes for whoever can guess why Erza selected you to be up here."

"In case you've forgotten, I'm up here because I'm one of the most powerful wizards in Fiore" Mira hissed, eyes going dark.

"Bailiff, please break them up" Erza ordered.

"Uhhhh… I think I see Jet and Droy passing notes…I'll go deal with them instead…"

"Gajeel! Laxus! Mira!" Erza started to panic, her plan was falling apart.

"THIS TRIAL ISN'T MANLY ENOUGH!" Elfman roared, ripping his shirt open.

"I'm sorry, Erza" Gildarts spoke over the top of the bubbling commotion around them. "I'm going to have to throw this case out. It was a valiant attempt, but it was really either a confession or bust, you can't prove love. Master, if you'll make it final…?"

Makarov magnified his voice to get over the noise. "Fairy Tail court rules in favour of a no-contest, Lucy and Natsu are neither in nor out of love. Guild dismissed."

Erza hung her head in defeat as fights broke out around her, always a sure occurrence after the wizards of Fairy Tail were couped up together for too long. _This…is my total and complete loss. I've failed you, Natsu, Lucy._

Erza turned to the pair in question, and was surprised to see them in quiet conversation. A bemused smile playing at Natsu's lips, a broader one painted across Lucy's face. _I better go apologise…_

"Lucy! Natsu!" Erza jogged over to them as they both looked up from what they were talking about.

"No more questions…" Lucy pleaded weakly as Natsu laughed next to her.

"No more questions! I promise!" Erza bowed her head. "I'm sorry for putting you through that…I really wanted you to be in love. I've released your sticking enchantment, you're free to go."

"It's alright…I'm sorry you didn't get to finish your case, It really felt like you were building to a big finale."

"Do you want to see my last photo? Just the two of you?"

Lucy and Natsu looked at each other cautiously. "I don't see why not…"

Erza smiled and pulled the physical copy out from her pocket dimension, dropping it on the table in front of them.

"Oh! I remember this!" Lucy smiled, absorbing the scene.

Lucy and Natsu were slow dancing at the Magic Dance Ball. Their hands were intertwined, their bodies only a few centimetres apart. Lucy was looking up into Natsu's face, positively beaming, while Natsu looked down at her with his typical smirk.

"This is a really nice photo, Erza. What were you going to say about it?" Lucy asked, still engrossed in the picture.

"Not much…" Erza admitted sheepishly. "It was just going to segue into my closing statement. When you look at the four photos of you and Natsu together…" Erza pulled out the other physical copies and dropped them on the table, "…you look so happy. Happier than you look around anyone else. These faces you make…Natsu is the only one who can make you look like that. He's the only one who can make you cry with laughter, burst into a fit of giggling, or smile so wide you radiate like the sun. And Lucy, you're the only one who can make Natsu sit still long enough to even be in a photo! If you care about each other that much, and trust each other that much, and like each other that much…I don't see how you could fall in love with anyone else but each other…" Erza trailed off sadly, but was shaken out of her misery by the sound of Lucy and Natsu laughing.

"W-what's so funny? I was being serious!"

Then Erza saw it. Lucy and Natsu had been holding hands under the table for the entire conversation.

"W-what? When!? HOW!? WHEN!?" Erza yelled in shock.

"Shhh! Keep your voice down!" Lucy pleaded, although it was hardly necessary, benches were being destroyed in the background as the guild erupted into a post-trial brawl; the love-is-beautiful faction led by Mira, against the waste-of-time faction led by Laxus.

"When!?" Erza hissed under her breath. "You were in love this whole time?! You are truly a mastermind"-

"We aren't in love!" Lucy hissed back angrily, before regaining her composure. "But looking at all the photos and listening to you speak…Natsu and I had a talk and we decided to start dating…we've both been too scared to take the next step because we didn't want to lose what we already had."

"I wasn't scared, I was just an 'emotional dunce'!" Natsu boasted proudly.

Lucy rolled her eyes next to him, but couldn't hide the smile spreading across her face.

"Love isn't as simple as someone making you laugh or taking care of you…but everything you've done today…I guess we'll never find out if we don't try. Thank you, Erza." Lucy finished.

Erza breathed a sigh of relief, her friends were happy. _A job well done, Erza._ _Now everything can go back to-_

"Gray! Juvia just wants to protect you!"

"Knock it off, woman! I've got a score to settle with Rust-bucket!" Gray snarled, trying to shrug Juvia off of his back.

"Gihihihi. Bring it on, Snowman!" Gajeel snickered.

"Gajeel! At least let go of Jet before you get involved in another fight!" Levy scolded.

… _Maybe there are some other couples out there that need my help…_

"Don't even think about it…" Heaven Erza warned from the right.

"I bet Master has some juicy photos…" Flame Erza whispered slyly from the left.

"Oh boy…" Lucy sighed, watching Erza's expression change. "I'm going to bail, Natsu. You can stay here and fight if you like though. I'll just meet you-"

Natsu gripped Lucy's hand tightly, and flashed her his trademark wide smile.

"Let's grab something to eat in town…I'll even wear something nice so you can _show me off._ "

"ACK! ERZA TOLD YOU ABOUT THAT?!"

Natsu burst out laughing, and as usual, Lucy couldn't resist joining in. 

* * *

**Finished! Thank you for reading this all the way through.**

 **If you enjoyed it, why not check out my other story, 'The Taste of Fire', which is a NaLu one-shot.**

 **Not sure about what to write next, I started writing fanfiction with two stories in mind, and now I've finished both of them. I'll have to brainstorm some new ideas and hopefully come back with something good.**

 **Thank you again to everyone who favourited, followed, and reviewed. Especially those who actually took the time to write reviews for individual chapters, Ransome Note, Senbei x Cup Ramen, SoraTheSkyDragonSlayer, fanficlove2014, NoraRabbit, semi-absorbed, and arisapphyre. It was extremely encouraging to view your thoughts and feedback. Bye for now!**


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